Written by

Andrea Rumbaugh

and Kevin Penton

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When Aberdeen officials placed plastic cones to divert drivers from crossing the road after superstorm Sandy knocked out the power to some traffic signals along Route 35, many motorists simply drove around or over the obstacles.

The town then placed officers along the stretch to enforce traffic. But with a force of 33 officers already stretched thin by the storm, the decision meant that officers standing in the middle of Route 35 were not at other areas also needing attention, Police Chief John Powers said.

Eventually, buses were parked in the spaces between the Jersey barriers, and officers were reassigned from traffic duty.

“We adjusted some of our methods and basically how we allocated our staff that were on the road,” he said.

While many officials said extensive preparation and community cooperation helped their town’s efforts during Sandy, this once-in-a-lifetime event also gave them some learning opportunities.

They found that some techniques worked well and some needed adjustments.

For instance, the Barnegat Police Department found huge success by disseminating storm information through its Facebook page. The approximately 20,000-person township attracted about 80,000 unique visitors to its page, said Lt. Keith Germain.

“It allowed us to reach a large amount of people very quickly in really a way we’re not used to being able to get them the information,” he said.

But in Aberdeen, officials acknowledged that the township’s methods for communicating did not properly account for a situation where the municipality would be without power for days.

The plan was for information to be spread via reverse-911 calls and on Aberdeen’s website, Powers said. But once the power went out, township officials struggled to update the site. The reverse-911 calls, known as Code Reds, often went to landlines that were dead or to cell phones without a charge.

“We’ve become too dependent on it,” Powers said of the Internet. “We will make the necessary changes and we will do a better job next time.”

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Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy said teamwork from the Office of Emergency Management really helped the city’s preparation and handling of the storm. The team, as well as a number of representatives from local organizations, met twice a day from Oct. 27 through Saturday, the first day the city decided it could reduce this frequency.

“Overall, I give us a pretty good passing grade, but there’s always room for improvement,” Keddy said.

One improvement he mentioned was providing backup emergency generators for the Springwood Avenue Center, which was used to feed people affected by Sandy.

The city is considering making the facility the primary reception and care center in the future.

In Belmar, Mayor Matt Doherty said the municipality handled the disaster as best it could, preparing for the storm through conference calls with Gov. Chris Christie’s office and the National Weather Service.

And like other officials, Doherty credited the rescuers who fought 60 mph winds and water above their heads.

The firefighters, first aid personnel, and water rescue teams in Belmar were all volunteers.

Doherty said he hoped to be more convincing in future mandatory evacuation notices, because “every rescue puts our volunteers’ lives at risk.”

And for many officials, the aftermath of these storms can simply be exhausting.

Since Sandy, Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy’s day starts early in the morning and is filled with a variety of tasks, including a morning meeting with township officials and personnel from other agencies, such as the Office of Emergency Management.

And there is often an evening meeting to go over details of what has happened during the day concerning power restoration, road clearing and the latest on re-entry plans for those on the barrier island.

“It is a long day. There are nights I just want to go home put my feet up and get warm and sleep,’’ Mastronardy said.

But he knows that as the restoration moves forward, there is a lot of work that has to be done.

In Brick, it was experience from past storms that helped officials weather Sandy and start moving forward.

Sgt. Keith Reinhard said the township had task forces that combined police officers, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel and public works employees.

These rescuers responded to calls together and were able to provide assistance for nearly any scenario.

“It helped us really know where our resources were, and we were better able to dispatch our calls for service,” he said.